A meme coin trading under the ticker LAPTOP, a reference to Hunter Biden, has lost over 90% of its value from its peak, according to CoinGape. The token launched on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network backed by Coinbase, and briefly reached a fully diluted valuation above $200 billion before the collapse.
Fully diluted valuation, or FDV, measures a token’s theoretical worth if every unit that will ever exist were already in circulation and priced at the current rate. For newly launched meme coins, FDV figures often look enormous because only a small fraction of the total supply is actually trading. That gap between headline valuation and real liquidity is a common feature of speculative token launches.
CoinGape also reported that concerns emerged over an insider allocation representing roughly 30% of LAPTOP’s total supply. Traders raised rugpull fears tied to that concentration, since large holdings controlled by early insiders or developers can be sold quickly, pressuring price. Rugpulls occur when insiders dump tokens en masse, leaving other holders with steep losses.
CryptoBriefing reported a more severe decline, putting the token’s drop at 99% following its Base debut. The two figures differ on the exact magnitude of the crash, though both describe a rapid and substantial collapse in value shortly after launch.
Meme coins referencing political figures or current events have become a recurring feature of crypto markets, particularly on low-fee networks like Base and Solana. These tokens typically launch with little underlying utility, relying instead on attention, social media virality, and speculative trading. Their prices can move dramatically within hours, and large early gains are often followed by sharp reversals once initial buyers take profits.
The use of Hunter Biden’s name and the term LAPTOP appears designed to capitalize on ongoing political and media attention surrounding him. Tokens built around public figures or controversies frequently generate short bursts of trading volume before interest fades. Regulators in multiple jurisdictions have previously flagged such tokens for scrutiny, given the risk of coordinated insider selling and limited investor protections in decentralized token launches.
The scale of insider allocation cited in this case, at roughly 30% of supply, is notably higher than many market participants consider acceptable for newly launched tokens. High insider concentration is often cited by analysts as a warning sign, since it gives a small group outsized influence over price movements after launch.
Sources disagree on this story
This article was published before the reports below were compared. The reporting above stands; what follows is where the published accounts do not agree.
Reports on Hunter Biden's LAPTOP token agree on tokenomics and the launch-day crash pattern but give conflicting figures for the coin's all-time-high price.
What all sources agree on
- Founders, including Hunter Biden, were allocated 30% of the token's supply, locked for six months and vested over roughly two years.
- A portion of supply (variously described as up to 20% or 2% by different outlets) was reserved for airdrops, including wallets that lost money on the TRUMP token.
- The token crashed sharply within a short window after launch, with outlets consistently describing declines in the 90-99% range from peak levels.
- Market maker Wintermute received an allocation of tokens and sold/distributed a portion of them to centralized exchange deposit addresses.
- One trader spent roughly $200,000-$250,000 to buy 919 LAPTOP near $218 and was left holding a position worth only a few thousand dollars.
- One trader who bought roughly 9,120-9,124 LAPTOP for around $249,000-$250,000 sold for approximately $1.18-$1.2 million in profit.
- Hunter Biden stated that neither he nor his team sold tokens and that he personally had not profited from the launch.
Where the reports disagree
1LAPTOP's all-time-high price
its price is now just under $2, down from its all-time high of $316.
LAPTOP launched on Base at 8am ET Wednesday and hit a $190.81 peak just two minutes later, per Arkham, before crashing to as low as $3.70 within the hour.
the launch has seen the coin drop from a high of $199 to an all-time low of $1.36 in 90 minutes following the release.
The token’s intraday high was $401.12, while the lowest it traded the same day is $1.20 the same day, per CoinMarketCap data.
After initially shooting up to US$222.75 (AU$308.61), it then crashed by around 98%.
LAPTOP reportedly rose to as high as $199 and then the price of the token fell to around $3.70… while another reported peak placed its price at $190.81 before it dropped to $0.86.
What would settle it: The exchange or on-chain trade data (e.g. the specific DEX pool transaction log on Base at launch) that recorded the single highest executed trade price for LAPTOP.
2Peak fully diluted valuation (FDV) at launch
The meme coin has crashed by over 90% from a peak fully diluted valuation (FDV) above $200 billion to as low as $2 billion, DexScreener data shows.
The token's fully diluted valuation briefly topped $144 billion against a liquidity pool of just $48,000, according to Arkham, before falling to roughly $4.8 billion.
Thanks to the supply of 1 billion tokens, its market cap hit $110 billion just minutes after launch. However, at time of writing, it has a fully diluted value of just $1.9 billion.
What would settle it: Arkham or a comparable on-chain analytics platform's contemporaneous FDV snapshot at the recorded peak price.
What to make of it
Treat the tokenomics (allocation percentages, airdrop mechanics) and the general pattern of a rapid post-launch crash as reliable across reports; do not treat any single dollar figure for LAPTOP's all-time-high price or peak valuation as settled, since outlets report materially different peaks.
Market Impact
The collapse of LAPTOP's valuation illustrates the volatility risk embedded in politically themed meme coins launched with minimal vetting. Sharp swings from multibillion-dollar fully diluted valuations to steep losses within a short window can undermine confidence in token launches on networks like Base, even though the underlying infrastructure is unaffected.
For traders, the episode reinforces the importance of scrutinizing token supply structure, including insider allocations, before entering speculative positions. Broader meme coin markets tend to see reduced participation after high-profile crashes, as investors grow more cautious about similarly structured launches in the near term.
The LAPTOP token's rapid rise and fall underscores the persistent volatility and structural risks surrounding politically branded meme coins, even as reports vary on the precise scale of its decline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LAPTOP meme coin?
LAPTOP is a meme coin referencing Hunter Biden that launched on the Base network and briefly reached a fully diluted valuation exceeding $200 billion before crashing.
Why did the token's insider allocation raise concerns?
Reports indicated insiders held roughly 30% of the token's total supply, a concentration level that traders flagged as a potential rugpull risk due to the ability of large holders to sell quickly.
How much did the token's value fall?
CoinGape reported a decline of more than 90% from the peak fully diluted valuation, while CryptoBriefing reported a drop of 99% following the token's Base launch.
What is fully diluted valuation, and why does it matter here?
Fully diluted valuation estimates a token's worth if its entire future supply were in circulation at the current price, which can produce inflated headline figures for tokens with limited actual trading liquidity.